2024 Romanian presidential election

Following consultations with various parliamentary groups, the government of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on 4 July 2024 that presidential elections would take place later that year on 24 November for a first round and 8 December for a second round. It also set parliamentary elections for 1 December. Prior to this, there was a speculation according to which the forthcoming Romanian presidential elections might have occurred earlier than to term, in the event that incumbent President Klaus Iohannis would have been nominated as Secretary General of NATO and that he would have accepted the nomination in the meantime, then the election would have likely been called earlier than planned. This ultimately did not come to pass, as Dutch former Prime Minister Mark Rutte was chosen to succeed the incumbent Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. == Candidates ==

National Liberal Party (PNL) President Klaus Iohannis was not eligible for another candidacy, therefore the party sought another suitable candidate. Former Prime Minister and former PNL president Ludovic Orban stated in Tecuci, Galați County, on 22 May 2021, that he did not "rule out" a candidacy in 2024. On 25 June 2021, then-Prime Minister Florin Cîțu stated in Piatra Neamț that he is "currently not considering" a presidential candidacy. Furthermore, fellow party leaders considered proposing Iohannis as Prime Minister after he ceases to be president. On 15 September 2024, Nicolae Ciucă, who was Prime Minister from 2021 to 2023, was formally designated as the PNL candidate for the presidency of Romania. Asked about considering a presidential candidacy, member of the Chamber of Deputies, Alexandru Rafila vaguely answered on 4 July 2021 "never say never" but underlined that running for president is "definitely not my goal". In another televised talk show, former Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu stated that the party is "going for the win" in all elections scheduled for 2024 (legislative, local, European Parliament, and presidential), and he "did not rule out" that Mircea Geoană could be again the party's presidential candidate. Geoană ran for president in 2009 but narrowly lost in the second round to Traian Băsescu, who was then re-elected for a second and final term. Speculations were proven clear that Geoană was running for the presidency in 2024 but did not receive PSD support as it was initially believed according to incumbent PSD president Marcel Ciolacu. On 26 August 2024, at the two-day PSD Congress, Ciolacu was officially designated as the party's presidential candidate. Save Romania Union (USR) Former 2019 candidate and party co-president Dan Barna stated in several interviews in April 2021 that his candidacy was "not ruled out" and a "real scenario". Party co-president Dacian Cioloș stated in an interview on 18 February 2021 that he was also considering a potential candidacy. On 26 June 2024, at the two-day USR Congress, Elena Lasconi, the newly elected party president, was officially designated as the party's presidential candidate. People's Movement Party (PMP) Cristian Diaconescu, then newly elected president of the party in early 2021, was designated the party's presidential candidate; however, some analysts believed that Mihail Neamțu, a current member of the PMP, might run instead, either as an independent (with PMP support) or as a candidate from another party. On 23 March 2022, Cristian Diaconescu was excluded from the party by the new leadership, thus losing his presidential candidate status previously granted by the PMP. Diaconescu subsequently filed to run as an independent candidate. Force of the Right (FD) On 28 June 2022, former Prime Minister, former PNL president, and current Force of the Right (FD) leader Ludovic Orban announced that he would run for president in 2024, also stating that he doesn't want to support any other candidate, being tremendously disappointed by the incumbent Klaus Iohannis. Orban was the second former PNL president to run for the Romanian presidency supported by a breakaway faction of the PNL after Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu (Prime Minister between 2004 and 2008) who ran on behalf of the Liberal Reformist Party (PLR; one of the predecessors of the Romanian ALDE founded in 2015 through a merger with the Conservative Party (PC) and subsequently absorbed by the PNL in March 2022) in 2014, during that year's presidential election. On 18 November 2024, during a live TV debate, Ludovic Orban announced his withdrawal from the presidential race and his endorsement to Elena Lasconi, the USR candidate. His late withdrawal kept his name on the ballot and any vote received would still be counted as his. Technically, he continued campaigning but delivered messages of endorsement for Lasconi. Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) The Alliance for the Union of Romanians nominated its leader George Simion. S.O.S. Romania The Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) notably disqualified far-right and pro-Russia S.O.S. Romania candidate Diana Șoșoacă from running, ruling that her public statements and conduct "systematically" violate the country's constitutional foundation of membership in Euro-Atlantic structures. In response, Șoșoacă claimed "this proves the Americans, Israelis and the European Union have plotted to rig the Romanian election before it has begun". The court's ruling, which was split 5–2 along party lines, was criticised by some for being politically motivated, undemocratic and a result of corruption, including by the PNL, which ended its governing coalition with the PSD as a result of the decision. PNL president Nicolae Ciucă claimed the court's decision showed the involvement of the PSD and endangers democracy in Romania, while PSD president Marcel Ciolacu reacted by saying that the Court should be reformed. Călin Georgescu Călin Georgescu, a Romanian nationalist who is a former member of the AUR, ran as an independent. He primarily conducted his campaigns through TikTok. Candidates previously qualified for the second round These candidates were placed on the first and the second place in the first round, but none of them reached at least 50% of the votes. Thus, they qualified for the second round, to be held on 8 December 2024. The first round was later annulled by the Constitutional Court of Romania, invalidating this second round. Candidates actively competed only in the first round These candidates' bids were validated by the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC). Some candidacies were challenged by the CCR, but rejected those claims. Excludes a valid candidate that withdrew during the electoral campaign and announced his endorsement to another candidate, while his name remained on the ballot. Withdrawn candidates These individuals were part of the race in some way and their plans stopped. Some failed to file their bid to BEC, withdrew from the race, or recanted their interest in the presidential office. Here are also included candidates who are no longer in the race due to their bid being rejected by BEC, or whose bid or candidacy were legally barred by the CCR, and a candidate that withdrew during the electoral campaign and announced his endorsement to another candidate, while his name remained on the ballot. Declined to be candidates These individuals have been the subject of speculation, but have publicly denied their interest in running for president. Here are also included individuals legally barred from running for president. 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Christianity in public life The role of Christianity and patriotism in Romanian public life has become a leading issue in the campaign. Often both supported and mocked as "The TikTok Messiah" for his religious nationalist messaging and use of the app TikTok, Georgescu has gained appeal among religious Romanians, appealing to natalism, family values, patriotism, and traditionalism. Corruption Both Călin Georgescu and Elena Lasconi have criticised corruption in Romania, which has become central to their appeal. Georgescu has accused the mainstream political parties, particularly the National Coalition for Romania between the center-left Social Democratic Party and the center-right National Liberal Party, of fostering corruption. Geopolitics Lasconi favours Romania closely aligning with the United States, European Union, and NATO, while opposing Russia, while Georgescu has stated that he favours Romania's geopolitical non-alignment between the two power blocs. Following the first round, Lasconi said that Romania was in "a historical confrontation between preserving Romania's young democracy ... and those who want to return Romania to the Russian sphere of influence". She also accused Georgescu of being an isolationist and an "open admirer of Vladimir Putin". Georgescu denied being an extremist or a fascist and said that he is "completely dedicated to the Romanian people", adding: "We remain directly linked to European values, but we must find our (own) values." LGBTQ rights LGBTQ rights are expected to be a major issue in the campaign. In the second round of the campaign, LGBTQ rights organizations have made strong endorsements for Lasconi, despite her past comments, while Georgescu explicitly rejects LGBTQ rights movements. Lasconi immediately retracted this position, stated that she does not oppose civil unions or (in the distant future) marriage for LGBTQ couples, while stating that her party remains open for individuals who are gender or sexual minorities, and that the party is open to all, "be they ... atheists [or] LGBTQ individuals". ==Debates==

The debates started on 28 October 2024, three days after the start of the campaign. The last first round debate was broadcast on 21 November 2024, 8:30 hours before the electoral campaign ended. There had been 38 broadcast debates: 30 televised, six on the radio and three online. The broadcasters were: • TVR Info (seven debates and one in syndication); • Radio România Actualități (six debates); • TVR 1 (five debates); • Digi24 (four debates); • TVR Timișoara (three debates); • Euronews România, România TV, B1 TV and Metropola TV (each with two debates) • A7 TV, Gândul, Antena 3, Ștefan Mandachi's video podcast, Cosmin Nedelcu's video podcast, TVR Moldova and TVR International (each with a sole debate; the last two only in syndication). Schedule Participation The following is a table of participating candidates in each debate: ==Opinion polls==

Party endorsements The table below lists the political parties and other political organizations that supported any of the candidates in the first and second rounds of the presidential election. Second round candidate endorsements Other endorsements Recently reelected Moldovan president Maia Sandu, who is also a Romanian citizen, announced her support for Elena Lasconi in the second round of the election. Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili also expressed support for Lasconi, just like French President Emmanuel Macron. Răzvan Burleanu, the president of the Romanian Football Federation, urged fans to support "European values". The Romanian Orthodox Church said it supported Romania's membership in the European Union. ==Results==

By county The results of the first round of voting were widely described as a shock, with both second round contenders Călin Georgescu and Elena Lasconi outperforming polling expectations. Turnout was higher than in 2019, with 9,465,257 Romanians showing up to the polls, representing 52.56% of the eligible electorate. Maps File:Romanian Presidential Elections 2024 - Annulled First Round.svg|Annulled first round results by county File:Romanian Presidential Elections 2024 - Annulled First Round - U.A.T. level.svg|Annulled first round results by commune, town and municipality ==Aftermath and controversies==

After failing to advance to the runoff, Marcel Ciolacu announced his resignation as leader of the Social Democratic Party on 25 November; however, he will remain the Prime Minister until a new government is formed following parliamentary elections on 1 December. Nicolae Ciucă also resigned as leader of the National Liberal Party after failing to advance to the runoff. The National Audiovisual Council of Romania also called for the European Commission to investigate TikTok's role in the election, while the national telecommunications regulator Ancom called for TikTok to be suspended as part of an investigation into electoral manipulation. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis also accused TikTok of failing to mark Georgescu's account as that of a political candidate. TikTok subsequently denied favouring Georgescu. Protests also broke out against Georgescu in Bucharest and several other cities in Romania. An analysis by the Romanian news outlet G4 Media found that Georgescu mounted a "propaganda machine" using thousands of supposed "volunteers" to spread his campaign messaging, adding that those involved received pre-made materials on Telegram that could readily be posted as comments on TikTok and other platforms. TikTok executives said that they had taken down several networks engaged in election interference in Romania. On 27 November, two minor candidates, Sebastian Constantin Popescu and Cristian Terheș submitted requests to the Constitutional Court of Romania to annul the results of the first round of the election. On 28 November, the court ruled unanimously to recount all ballots cast in the first round, with a decision on whether to annul the results expected on 2 December. In their appeals, Terheș accused the USR of violating election law by campaigning among diaspora voters on polling day and alleged that votes cast for Ludovic Orban had been transferred to Elena Lasconi. Popescu accused Georgescu, who declared zero campaign spending, of failing to disclose financing linked to TikTok. The Central Election Bureau later said that scanned reports were due to be delivered by 1 December and the original ballots by 3 December. Additionally, the Supreme Council of National Defence convened and called for an investigation into alleged attacks on the electoral infrastructure and suspicions of illegal campaigning by Călin Georgescu. Georgescu denied the accusations against him, while Lasconi criticised the recount and called on the Central Election Bureau to handle the process "wisely". The Romanian Ambassador to Israel accused Israel of interfering in the 2024 Romanian presidential election in favour of Georgescu. ==Annulment==

On 2 December, the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously to confirm the first round results and upheld the organisation of the runoff on 8 December between Georgescu and Lasconi; The annulment was condemned by both Georgescu and Lasconi, with Georgescu describing the court's verdict as a "formalised coup d'état", and Lasconi calling it "illegal [and] immoral" and stating that it "crushes the very essence of democracy". Fourth-placed George Simion also called the verdict a "coup d'état in full swing" but urged against street protests. Third-placed Marcel Ciolacu called the annulment "the only correct decision". Russian state interference in the election was widely reported, including state-sponsored cyberattacks, and the annulment was described as "an extraordinary step" by The Washington Post. On 7 December, prosecutors searched properties across the country in an investigation into the financing of a candidate's campaign, with investigators saying money laundering was used to fund the campaign. Although the candidate's name was not revealed, Georgescu and his campaign were reportedly the target of the searches. On the day of the cancelled runoff, Georgescu and around 100 of his supporters held a protest outside a polling station in Bucharest demanding that the election be held. An online petition calling for free elections was also launched by the AUR, which supported Georgescu. Following the annulment of the presidential election, the new government formed after the 2024 Romanian parliamentary election on 1 December was expected to set new dates for a presidential vote. Ilie Bolojan, president of the PNL, said the rerun would likely occur either before Easter in late March or early April, or after Easter in May. On 8 January 2025, the ruling coalition fixed the dates of the new election for 4 and 18 May 2025. On 17 December, the European Commission announced an investigation into TikTok over interference in the elections. On 21 December, the political magazine Politico Europe reported that the pro-European PNL had financed a general political campaign, the hashtags of which were then used to promote Georgescu. On 12 January 2025, tens of thousands of people protested in Bucharest against the annulment of the election. Some Romanian politicians supported Georgescu's participation in the new presidential elections in May 2025. Former Senate President Crin Antonescu, the candidate supported by the governing coalition in the new election, said: "It is not just about [Georgescu] or his statements but about a broader theme — society's trust in the fairness and reliability of the democratic system, particularly elections." Ultimately, Georgescu's attempt to register as a candidate in the new election was rejected by the Central Electoral Bureau on 7 March 2025, which led to new protests. Simion subsequently announced and registered his candidacy in Georgescu's place, which the BEC approved on 15 March. On 21 January, the European Court of Human Rights rejected an appeal by Georgescu to reverse the annulment, saying that it did not have jurisdiction over the case. Six days later, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe published an "Urgent Report on the cancellation of election results by Constitutional Courts", which had been commissioned by the Council of Europe President, Theodoros Rousopoulos, on 13 December 2024. At the 2025 Munich Security Conference US Vice President JD Vance criticised the annulment, stating that "If your democracy can be destroyed with a few $100,000 of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn't very strong to begin with". He said that the Romanian courts had decided to annul the elections under pressure from "flimsy suspicions of an intelligence agency and enormous pressure from its continental neighbors" (referring to the Romanian Intelligence Service). On 24 April 2025, a judge of the Ploiești Court of Appeals overturned and suspended the Constitutional Court's ruling that had annulled the election. The Central Electoral Bureau subsequently stated that the 2025 election, due on 4 May, would continue as normal. The Prosecutor's Office attached to the Ploiești Court of Appeals appealed the decision, and the Superior Council of Magistracy referred the judge for potential disciplinary misconduct. In the first round of the 2025 presidential election on 4 May, Simion came first with 41 percent of the vote, ahead of Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan with 21 percent, former Senate President Crin Antonescu with 20 percent, and former Prime Minister Victor Ponta with 13 percent. Dan defeated Simion 53.6%–46.4% in the runoff on 18 May, and his presidency began on 26 May 2025. ==See also==